Before knowing what camera is the best one to take trekking you first need to answer when and where you will be trekking. Then ask yourself why you want to take photographs?

The true answer is - can your camera's batteries handle the cold!

When are you going?This is important to know due to weather. Between December and February it can get brutally cold up in the mountains. So, you'll need to think about keeping your equipment warm. Ditto for getting your camera dry during monsoon season and dust free the rest of the year.

Where will you be photographing? Are you planning to go trekking at high altitude? Is your trek going to take over three weeks? Or are you only going for a week? Knowing how long and where you'll be going is essential to choosing the right equipment. Battery charging, lenses and equipment weight will all need to be considered here.

Why are you taking photographs? Sounds silly but it's important. Are you planning to sell your photographs? Take specific shots? Or are you just going on a trip of a lifetime and want to capture the moment? If this is your professional work then tripods, backups and a whole lot more need to be considered. Maybe even porters. Otherwise you might want to lessen the weight and enjoy the trek more.

Once you've worked out the When, Where and Why you should now know what you are expecting from your camera and your equipment. e.g. there's no point in taking your Canon D1 with 5 prime lenses and two tripods on a 5 day trek to Poon hill in the middle of monsoon season with out a dry bag or spare battery.

Let's move on and put more of this puzzle together so you can better understand what to expect out there, what's available and what's not going to work at all!

Camera Tip

Batteries hate the cold. Make sure to keep you camera batteries above freezing when you trek. Your inner pockets are often a good place!

I get asked this a lot. Basically it's not going to happen. Theft is not a huge problem in Nepal. Thousands of tourists enter into Nepal every year swinging big DSLR's from their necks and rarely does anything ever happen.

Do certainly keep your camera equipment locked up safety when you are not around. And I really wouldn't wander around Kathmandu with one swinging away - not for worry of theft but more about crazy motorbikes, cars and people smashing in to it.

When you are out trekking you'll meet plenty of people carrying big cameras. It's a very normal thing to see in Nepal. Take the usual precautions that you would back home and you'll be fine.

All that said, it's advisable to make sure your camera and other valuables are covered with travel insurance. It's also important that you yourself are covered up to the altitude you will be trekking. Here are my recommendations on travel insurance for trekking in Nepal.

Optimal camera temperature ranges vary as do battery temperatures. I won't get into the technical side of things as I will discuss my own experiences with camera and battery temperatures when trekking in Nepal. Sufficed to say on a Nikon D300 there's a listing saying 0°C to +40°C (+32°F to +104°F). Now let's move on into the real world.

I can positively say that I've never had a problem nor seen a problem with altitude and cameras. There are those that say the old spindle driven backup portable hard drives won't function over 4000 meters. Mine did. Now let's more on to the real issue - the weather.

Click photo to see a larger photograph of Sanskrit writing on a huge stone!

Remember above when I mentioned "when" as a prerequisite for knowing about what camera to take to Nepal? This is why. If you are going trekking in the winter then it's going to get very cold. How cold? Well I've been in -45 with wind chill. During my winter Everest Base Camp trek it reached -15 indoors with snow outside.

How cold can it get before your camera stops working? No idea. I met some Koreans at - 23 whose Canon Rebels stopped working. I met a girl in Kathmandu whose Olympus compact shutter jammed at +5. I met a Nikon user whose camera jammed at -10.

Truth of the matter is most camera malfunctions during the cold are caused by the batteries ceasing to function.

You'll also notice that batteries won't last as long in the cold either.

Keeping your equipment warm:I keep my batteries and camera close to me all the time. I trek with it a shoulder holster under my jacket and batteries in my inner pockets. Yes, it can get extremely uncomfortable, but I've never had a problem.

If you sweat a lot do be aware of freezing condensation.

The next biggest problem I came across where compacts getting so much grit and dust into their shutters they just stopped functioning.

Finally there's the old problem of moving a lens from a warm room to the cold and the condensation building up. If you are staying in a very warm guesthouse or by a fire then you need to keep your camera back a bit and be prepared for it to fog up.

Lastly there was one photographer who was convinced his DSLR shutter jammed in the cold temperature. This could happen, but I've not come across it that much.

My solutions to keeping your camera gear working in the cold: The best results I personally ever had was to keep my camera, battery and lenses as close to body temperature as possible.

As you've read I've made a point at not recommending specific cameras. Lot's of reasons for that. Specifically the rules of When, where and why. But also because there are new cameras out every 6 months. And if you are here, you probably already know what you want in terms of your own more frequent photography needs.

The real recommendation on what camera to take when trekking is going to be based on your own needs.

I've seen everything from Canon Rebels to Nikon D4's and small compacts being used when trekking in Nepal.

If you don't have a camera then you might consider the following

Mobile, DSLR or Mirrorless.

Mobile: Nepal is a once in lifetime opportunity for fantastic photos. Personally, I would avoid the pitfall of using a mobile phone as your sole camera. Mobiles are great for selfies and social media, but for high resolution e.g. printing or viewing on a big screen they don't do justice to a photograph

DSLR: Canon and Nikon are the main makers you should consider for what you might recognise as the standard big camera. They come in entry, mid-range and high-end ranges. You'll need a couple of lenses too. So their biggest draw back is weight and bulk. But, in return you get the best images. Batteries are a big plus here too as they last a long time (good for mountains). Both have lots of accessories and repair shops know the brands well.

Mirrorless: These cameras are becoming more and more popular the world over. They are able to produce amazing photographs with none of the bulk or weight that DSLRs have. The main problem with them is expense, they are much smaller and can be fiddly. But perhaps most importantly for trekking is that they consume a lot of battery power. On charge may only last about 3-4 hours while a DSLR could give you days. In the mountains, that last point is important.

My recommendation is to first and foremost understand when are you going, where are you going and why are you taking photos.

I will say if you plan on photographing inside monasteries or guesthouses then you'll need a camera and a lens with good low light capabilities.

When out above 4000 meters things tend to get bright - white (snow) and blue (sky). If it's just before the monsoon season things might get a little hazy too. Other than that dealing with light will be your main issue.

Remember if you are trekking at altitude you'll be dealing with a lot more than what setting to put your camera on. Altitude sickness and the effects of it are serious. It can have a serious on your concentration! Do read about altitude sickness before you go trekking.

You'll also be outside on the move nearly everyday. The idea of shooting only in the magic golden hours for most trekkers is reserved for where ever you'll be waking or sleeping that day.

After that, the following list of recommended equipment might help too!

If one of your purposes for trekking in Nepal is to take great photographs then I would seriously recommend you take a porter with you to help with carrying your equipment. Likewise take some extra days on the trek to allow for longer stops etc.

Porters are relatively cheap to hire and cab carry your equipment for you while you enjoy the trek, scout for great photos and make those little side treks with no load for some extra off the beaten path photographs. It'll also mean you can carry that tripod too!